Lesson part 1the structure of the earth betterlesson. Materials assorted colors of clay sticky notes plastic knife toothpicks metric ruler calculator pencil resource books earth. It is roughly 1800 3200 miles below the surface and about 1400 miles thick. Structure of the earth okaloosa county school district.
The crust is truly an amazing and astonishing thing to learn and behold. The densest atmospheric layers are closer to earth and the least dense layers are far away from earth. This gives most important evidences of interior of earth. The structure of the earth earthquakes discovering. Determining the crystal structure of iron fe under ultrahigh pressure and temperature pt conditions is a key piece of information required to decipher the complex seismic structures observed in earth s inner core. These layers are both physically and chemically different. Structure of the earth simple english wikipedia, the. The composition and structure of earth core, mantle, and crust are divisions based on composition. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The inner core the centre of earth is solid and about 1,250 km thick. Notably suggested by edmond halley in the late 17th century, the notion was tentatively disproven by pierre bouguer in 1740, and definitively by charles hutton in his schiehallion experiment around 1774 it was still occasionally defended through the mid19th century. Some carbons, under inconceivable heat and pressure, turn into diamonds, and some heavy minerals into other precious stones. Earths plate movements are responsible for earthquakes, tsunamis and.
The mantle is much hotter and has the ability to flow. The internal structure of earth is layered in spherical shells. Mechanically, it can be divided into lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesospheric mantle, outer core, and the inner core. The core is a dense ball of the elements iron and nickel. The asthenosphere is a semisolid layer of hot rock thats found at the top of the upper mantle. More information than is available from seismic velocities is needed to estimate the earth s density distribution. It con sists mostly of iron, and is subdivided into a molten outer core and a solid inner core. These materials contribute to the function of each layer and supports why it is. Introduction and origin of the earth tulane university. Dec 30, 2015 this lesson includes a powerpoint aimed at lower ability year 8. The structure of earth s layers correlates with other interdisciplinary areas.
The air has a special place among the conditions necessary for life. Composition of earth as discussed earlier, the mass of the earth is approximately 5. Radial structure, chemical composition, and phase transformations inferring earths composition is a prerequisite to understanding its evolution and dynamics as well as those of planets like it. The flowing metal of the outer core helps create a dynamo effect. The interior of the earth can be understood only by indirect evidences as neither any one has nor any one can reach the interior of the earth. The earth has an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous. The mantle is the thickest layer of the earth at 2,900km thick. Pdf living structure down to earth and up to heaven.
One might think that the composition of earth can be easily inferred. But what are the layers that lie beneath earths crust. You may have heard that ogres are like onions because they have many layers. It is divided into two layers, the inner core and the outer core. It is approximately 1,221 km thick and has a density of 12. Earth is made up of several different layers, each of which has unique. Color online the earths surface as a coherent whole, being a living structure. Structure of the earth and its parts geography for kids. He was the first to calculate the mass of the earth. The earths interior earth and planetary science university of. The inner core is a giant furnace at superhigh temperatures and pressures. The structure of the earth s crust based on seismic data covers the papers presented at an international upper mantle committee lumc symposium called crustal structure based on seismic data, held on july 3031, 1971. There is a liquid outer core and a solid inner core.
Density, massvolume, temperature, and pressure increase with depth. Exogenic as well as endogenic processes are constantly shaping the landscape. Have the students that drew outer core form a circle around the inner. Moser department of chemical technology, technical university budapest, institute of geodesy, technical university budapest.
Use the prime questions on the inside front cover of the structure of earth to stimulate students thinking. Between the earth s crust and the mantle is a boundary called the moho. Physical structure of the earth 5 layers lithosphere rigid outer layer crust and part of the mantle asthenosphere solid rock that flows slowly, found below lithosphere like frosting part of the mantle mesosphere middle layer, part of the mantle. The earth has a radius of about 6371 km, although it is about 22 km larger at equator than at poles. The inner core is solid and is composed of iron and nickel. How do scientists know the structure of the earths. The structure of the earth is similar to that of an egg. Earths core is the very hot, very dense center of our planet. A study of the earth s interior structure is quite helpful in understanding the science behind the earthquake. The crust is the outermost layer of the earth making up 0.
Earths layers how are the earths layers similar to an egg. Fe adopts bodycentered cubic bcc structure at ambient conditions and transforms into the hexagonal closepacked hcp phase above 15 gpa. The earth s surface that consist of a number of rigid, but moving pieces or plates 4. This has lead to the knowledge of the layers of earth. The book focuses on the structure, composition, and characteristics of the earth s crust. The outer core and inner core are even hotter with pressures so great you would be squeezed into a ball smaller than a marble if you were able to go to the center of. Isaac newton gave a name to the concept of gravity and and discovered that gravity is influenced by density. The hollow earth is a concept proposing that the planet earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. They have material and structure similar to earth and give information about the materials of which earth is formed of.
The coarsening rate of an initial grain structure is calculated and compared to the inner core growth rate. The core is the densest layer of the earth with its density ranges between 9. Lets build the earth the structure of the earths crust. The core constitutes nearly 15% of earth s volume and 32. Learn the basics about structure of the earth and the composition its different layers. The crust makes up less than 1 percent of earth by mass, consisting of oceanic crust and continental. The mantle is hot and represents about 68 percent of earths mass. Seismic waves and how we know earth s structure video transcript what i want to do in this video is really make some clarifications and go a little bit more in detail about the different layers of the earth. The earth s inner core is a huge metal ball, 2,500km wide. The configuration of the surface of the earth is largely a product of the processes operating in the interior of the earth. The structure of iron in earths inner core science. The structure of the earth the earth is made up of four distinct layers. The metal at the inner core stays solid because of the incredible pressure surrounding it. This part of the earth is about 2,900 km below the earths surface.
Earth s layers the internal structure of the earth earth s layers kelvinsong, from wikimedia commons the interior of the earth is made up of several concentric layers of which the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core are significant because of their unique physical and chemical properties. The shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid, because it is slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator. Core, mantle, and crust are divisions based on composition. Hence it becomes possible to determine the rate of change of characteristics of material of earth. The outer core is liquid and the inner core is solid. Earth has an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid outer core that is much less viscous than the mantle, and a solid inner core. Jun 19, 2009 a video on structure of earth for ncert geography students. The inner structure of the earth is described by the authors on the basis of systematic processing and evaluation of the traditional and newer theories and conceptions. They are solid bodies developed out of materials same as, or similar to, our planet. But there is much more to these layers each with very specific properties which are required for life on earth. Chemically, earth can be divided into the crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core. The interior structure of the earth layers of the earth. The crust is the layer that you live on, and it is the most widely studied and understood.
This model is derived from evidence from earthquake waves, volcanoes, rock types and the earths magnetic field. Earth s inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the earth. Using gravity measurements in combination with earth s mass, scientists determined that the interior of the earth must be denser than the crust. Earths crust is divided into plates that move like bricks over freshly laid mortar. Explore the relationships between ideas about the structure of the earth in the concept development maps changes in the earths surface and plate tectonics. The inner core is in the centre and is the hottest part of the earth. The outer core is the only liquid layer of the earth a sea of mostly iron and nickel. It is the outermost solid and brittle part of the earth. At the present level of understandings, earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. Jul 22, 2007 the earths structure the core the inner part of the earth is the core. The interior structure of the earth is layered in spherical shells, like an onion. An estimate of the present size of the grains in the centre of the core varies from 560m to 12km, depending on the value taken for the. The radius of the core is just over half the radius of the earth. Learn about the structure of the earth s interior crust, mantle and core and composition of its different layers.
Both layers of the core are made of iron and nickel. The internal structure of the earth is made up of the asthenosphere, the upper mantle, the lower mantle, the outer core and the inner core. The heat flow processes that occur in the earth s mantle, and cause the tectonic movements within the crust, have also been highlighted on this model. Itypically, horizontal wind speeds are a thousands time greater than vertical wind speeds. Where it differs from earth is a partially molten boundary layer around the core estimated to have a radius of nearly 300 miles. Earth s structure a cutaway model of the earth s structure, highlighting the relative sizes of the core, mantle and crust.
Most crawling reptilians, the most earthbound of all creatures, have remained unchanged for millions of years. Seismic waves from large earthquakes pass throughout the earth. Convection currents and the mantle heat transfer is the movement of heat energy from a warmer. Test yourself on the structure of the earth see all quizzes go to topic question 2 how hot is earth s inner core.
Atmosphere composition and structure notes the domain of air on the earth geography 9 atmosphere composition and structure earth is a unique planet because the life is found only on this planet. Because of the shallowness of the atmosphere, its motions over large areas are primarily horizontal. The earth is a lively planet, and it is the dy namic nature of the. Nasa nasa research team reveals moon has earthlike core.
Pdf grain structure of the earths inner core renaud. Structure of the earth lesson 1 teaching resources. Hence, this becomes yet another source of information about the interior of the earth. Robertson abstract evidence on the structure and composition of the earths interior comes from 1 observations of surface rocks, 2 geophysical data from earthquakes, flow of heat from the interior, the magnetic field, and gravity, 3 laboratory ex. The structure of the earth the earth consists of four concentric layers. These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams like banking po, ssc, state civil services exams and so on. The composition and structure of earth physical geography. Its interior, structure and composition amit sengupta. Shellcrust egg whitemantle yolkcore physical structure of the earth lithosphere rigid outer layer crust asthenosphere solid rock that flows slowly like hot asphalt lithosphere the lithosphere geosphere is the solid part of earth. A study of the earths interior structure is quite helpful in understanding the science behind the earthquake. Test your understanding of the earth s internal structure with this quiz and worksheet. Have the student that drew inner core stand in the center and flex his or her muscles this represents the inner core which is dense and solid metal. Interior structure of the earth we have already seen how we can combine data with our knowledge of the basic parameters of the earth to determine that the earth is a stratified planet, that means, that the density of the earth increases as we go down to greater depths in the earth.
The material and the structure observed in the meteors are similar to that of the earth. The mantle itself is divided into 2 layers, the upper and lower mantles and the heat within these layers drives convection currents. Test yourself on the structure of the earth quiz earth. Pick up a shovel if you must, but dont forget to stop for dinner. These layers are both physically and chemicallycrust, a highly viscous layer called the mantle, a liquid layer that is the outer part of the core, called the outer core, and a solid center called the inner core. The interior of the earth, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers. Evidence on the structure and composition of the earths interior comes from 1 observations of surface rocks, 2 geophysical data from earthquakes, flow of. Form a hypothesis based on information in this chapter, make a statement estimating what percentage of earths volume is composed of crust, mantle, and core. The core is divided into two parts, the inner core and the outer core.
With its immense heat energy, the inner core is like the engine room of the earth. Structure and composition of the earth the earth ks3. From the radial distribution of the seismic velocity pro le, obtained by processing the tables of. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 kilometres 760 miles, which is about 20% of the earth s radius or 70% of the moons radius. Made mainly of iron, the temperature of the ball is 5,000c to 6,000c thats up to 6,000 times hotter than our atmosphere and scorching enough to make metal melt. The crust is made up of tectonic plates, which are in constant motion.
It was the first discovery of a major change in the earth s structure as one goes deeper. The earth s structure consists of three parts, the crust, mantle and core. It has an area of rock that flows like a thick liquid. These waves contain vital information about the internal structure of the earth. Key concepts of earths structure the activities in this topic are designed to explore the following key concepts.
The crust is on the outside, while the mantle is in the middle and the core is the innermost section. It is mostly made of the lighter elements, silicon, oxygen, aluminium. The earth has an outer solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid outer core, and a solid inner core the boundaries between these layers were discovered by seismographs detecting the way vibrations bounced off the layers during earthquakes. The earth has an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid outer core that is much less viscous than the mantle, and a solid inner core.
Then, write the name of the layer of earth described by each statement. There are no samples of the earth s core available for direct measurement, as there are for the earth s mantle. When taken as a whole, the earths chemical composition by mass has been approximated as given in the table below. This article talks about the structure of earth the crust, mantle, and core. Essentially the structure of the earth consists of a hard iron core which sits at the centre of a molten liquid sphere surrounded by a solid crust of rock. The interior structure of the earth is composed of three main layers. The structure of the earth department of education and.
Earthquakes and volcanoes are most likely to occur at plate boundaries. The activity is on page 5253 of the revised august, 2000 edition of tremor. It is solid and made up of iron and nickel with temperatures of up to 5500c. We shall look into the details of earthquake laters on. Take students to a large open area and build the earth from the inside out. These layers can be defined by their chemical and their rheological properties. Different layers of the earth its interior, structure. An example of a contemporary 1d velocity structure for the mantle and core the thin lowvelocity crust is not included is shown in figure 3, along with a density. Earth scientists have proposed that the earth is constructed of layers.
The crust makes up less than 1 percent of earth by mass, consisting of oceanic crust and continental crust is often more felsic rock. Pwaves, swaves, surface waves, pangea, plates, glacial striations, plate tectonics, orogeny, paleontology, alfred wegner, continental drift, plate boundaries. As seismic waves pass through the earth, they are refracted, or bent, like rays of light bend when they pass though a glass prism. The ballshaped core lies beneath the cool, brittle crust and the mostlysolid mantle. These are extraterrestrial masses reaching the earths surface. The core is composed mostly of iron fe and is so hot that the outer core is molten, with about 10% sulphur s. Pdf discovered by christopher alexander, living structure is a physical.